AMES – Growing off past mistakes, No. 18 Iowa State’s improvement from the free-throw line helped the Cyclones to an 87-55 win against Eastern Illinois on Sunday.
Falling short in the Cy-Hawk game on Wednesday, the biggest struggle for the Cyclones was from the free-throw line as they made a season-low 37.5%, making six out of the attempted 16 shots.
One of the biggest improvements from the line came from sophomore center Audi Crooks, as she was given the most opportunities during the game against Iowa, but fell short as she succeeded in a limited three shots from her 10 attempts.
“She had all off-season and she and [associated head] coach [Jodi Steyer] are spending a lot of quality time together, shooting free throws,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “The thing that I keep telling her is she obviously has the ability to do it, hence six for six. In the back of her mind, I am trying to get her to understand that A, that helped out the team and B, you score more points.”
Quickly seeing the improvement from practice, Crooks made 100% of her free throws, going 6-for-6 in her 45th career game. Her six successful shots contributed to her overall team-high score of 30 points.
“That was probably for me, besides winning the game, the highlight of the game to see her make those six. She works really hard at it,” Fennelly said.
The Cyclones finished the game with an 87.5% success rate from the charity stripe, making 14 out of their 16 shots. The opportunities were consistently available as the Panthers received 16 personal fouls, five coming from forward Macy McGlone who fouled out early in the third quarter.
The improvement was evident early in the first half with a nine-point lead, as the team achieved a 100% success rate from the free-throw line. Crooks made four shots, while guards Reagan Wilson and Kelsey Joens each contributed two successful shots. Additionally, forward Addy Brown matched their success, going two for two from the free-throw line.
“Just going back to the fundamentals and taking care of it, this next game is going to be really important against a good defensive team who likes to get up in your face and pressure you,” Brown said.
Despite a small dip in the accuracy due to center/forward Lilly Taulelei missing two shots, Crooks and forward Alisa Williams made up for them late in the contest, both contributing two successful three-throw shots strengthening Iowa State’s win lead to 32.
“We talked about before the game and even yesterday, just embracing those little moments, I mean not everyone gets to play Division I basketball at the level we play it at,” guard Arianna Jackson said. “So just embracing those little moments and just knowing that we are all in it together.”
